Numerous maze games are known which require various degrees of physical skill in order to move an object from the entry to the exit point. Many of the known mazes are in the form of tortuous channels or passageways in two/three-dimensions through which an object viz. marble has to be guided from the start to the end point. The toys are generally transparent in order to make the pathways visible to the player who has to guide the object/marble by selecting a path by proper orientation of the maze.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,509,340 relates to a puzzle of the maze ball type wherein a maze is provided, having an entrance and an exit and a torturous path therebetween, through which a ball is adapted to be passed, a plurality of false paths also being provided. The maze is adapted to be contained in a transparent sphere such that the moving object/ball in the maze is visible to the payer at all times. The sphere is constructed of two hemispheres with the pathways suitably moulded. Thereafter, the hemispheres are assembled by aligning the pathways and sealing the device. Conversely, the pathways may be drilled subsequent to the formation of the device from the exterior of the device and their ands suitably sealed with plastic.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,406,971 teaches a novel three-dimensional labyrinth employing a moving ball dimensioned to ride within configured slots in stacked transparent sheets maintained in a fixed array. The device consists of a plurality of planar elements, each having one or more slots therein which when stacked, form an organized pattern through which a movable member, such as a ball, may move. The ball is guided by the sides of the slot while being maintained at its vertical reference level by the underlying planar element. The maze complexity may be increased by false routes. The player has to tilt the device in order to guide the object through the slots. Because of the gap between the planar elements and their relative thinness, the object is visible from two sides and helps in the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,865 teaches a three-dimensional amusement device comprising a hollow transparent container. The container is wrapped, in a multitude of bends and directions, a hollow, transparent tube joined at its ends by a joining plug, thereby forming a continuous, multi-planar three-dimensional passageway network located entirely within the container. The joining plug is marked to indicate start and finish, and forms a carrier in the passageway. Within the passageway is located a small bead of mercury capable of moving as a bead through the continuous passageway from one end of the plug to the other. The object of the amusement is to tilt the container in such a fashion as to work the mercury bead from one end of the plug to the other via the continuous passageway. The player, while looking at the transparent pathway and the mercury bead has to use his physical dexterity and guide the bead through the complete stretch of the pathway. There are no false paths but the complexity of the game may be increases by increasing the number of bends in the pathway.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,895 teaches of a maze having substantially coextensive walls one of which forms an inner three-dimensional form or shell and the other which forms an outer form or shell. Each of the shells is generally in the form of a cube and the inner shell is fixedly positioned within the outer shell so as to maintain a predetermined, uniform distance between the inner and outer walls. The outer wall is formed with a network of channels which, together with the inner wall, define a corresponding network of passageways. The passageways on each side of the outer cube are connected to the passageways on the adjacent sides of the cube so as to form interconnected passageways which permit one or more marbles, for example, to move through the passageways on one or more sides of the cube with changes in orientation of the maze in space. Apertures are provided in at least one passageway on each side of the cube for providing points of entry and exit for the marbles into and out of the maze. By selective changes in orientation of the maze in space marbles within the maze can be made to move through the passageways without escaping through the apertures. By using a transparent outer shell, all the marbles contained within the maze may be readily observed prior to reorientation of the maze.
An important feature of U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,895 which substantially facilitates the assembly of the maze game once the individual panels have been molded or formed, is the provision of corner portions at each of the above described channel free ends, which corner portions are dimensioned and adapted to snappingly engage with one another so as to eliminate the need of additional connecting means for joining the panels or walls to each other. As best shown in there are provided two differently sized corner portions, namely wide corner portions and narrow corner portions. The wide corner portions are extensions of the respective channel free ends, as to be described, and define ninety degree bends in the connected channels to permit the marbles, for example, to move between associated channels formed on opposite sides of the maze by being deflected by ninety degrees during such transition of sides.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,753 relates to a transparent enclosed cube containing a maze constructed of a plurality of layers of parallel square tubes separated by other layers of parallel square tubes, each tube having at least one opening to a neighboring tube, entrance opening to insert a ball therein that will traverse the maze to an exit opening by gravity when the cube is manipulated about its three axes. The ball may be made with a resilient surface and the entrance opening may be smaller than the other tube openings so the ball must be squeezed through the entrance. Thus the pathway may be changed by a different arrangement of the square tubes. False paths are automatically formed as the tubes have apertures that lead to the next parallel tube and while playing if the aperture is missed, the ball will be trapped inside the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,606 teaches a cubicle maze puzzle including a transparent cubicle main portion having an upper end and a lower end. The main portion has transparent walls formed therein. The walls define a plurality of chambers within the main portion. The walls have a plurality of apertures formed therein defining a tortuous path from an entrance point in the upper end to an exit point in the lower end. The device includes a ball that is dimensioned for receipt within the entrance point of the transparent cubicle main portion for traveling though the tortuous path defined by the plurality of apertures to be ejected outwardly through the exit point.
The above mentioned prior art relate to three-dimensional maze where the pathways are visible to the player. The complexity is increased by increasing the number of pathways, bends and false ends. For a successful completion of the games the player has to skillfully guide the object/ball through the pathways from the entry to the exit point. Thus, only physical dexterity is required and the games do not require any strategic skill. Moreover, the maze-games cannot be played in steps, i.e. the total playing process cannot be divided into steps involving a straight pathways so that the player has to think of the next combination or specified movement required in order to guide the ball into the next intersection. Moreover, all the prior arts and difficult to make, involving complicated segments and are expensive to manufacture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,577 teaches a maze game device for moving one or more game objects from a starting position to a finish position which includes a housing enclosing a plurality of tunnels which are movable in location within the housing in response to the depressment of buttons which extend outwardly from various locations on the housing and the concurrent tilting and orienting of the housing. The game object or objects are maneuverable from the starting location to the finish location by orientating the housing and depressing the buttons either singly or in combination to align the tunnels to provide a path for moving the game object from the starting location to the finish location. One or more game objects are allowed access into the housing through one or more openings in the housing by the depressment of the particular game control which aligns a tunnel directly beneath the opening in the housing. The game piece is then maneuvered through the housing by means of both depressing a game control or a combination of game controls and tilting and orientating the housing in different positions to cause the tunnels to provide a path for the game object to a desired location and to cause the game objects to then follow that path. The game thus contains mechanical means to accentuate buttons and the construction of the same is complicated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,036 teaches a multi-level crossing maze toy, wherein nine kinds of single cubes of the same size in the number as desired are combined longitudinally, laterally and thicknesswise to form a combined cube, the combined cube being formed in two surface thereof with an entrance and an exit open thereto, opening of the cube are singly associated when the combined cube is formed, and a dead end passage, a linear passage, a curved passage, a T-passage, a right-angle three-forked passage, a cross passage, a five-forked passage and a six-forked passage formed interiorly of a single cube are freely placed in communication with one another to form a multi-level crossing maze. Therefore, a ball is introduced into the multi-level crossing maze from the entrance of the combined cube to which is connected the single cube, and the combined cube is operated to move the ball and remove it from the exit. The present invention provide means in which a complicated maze invisible from outside is formed interiorly of a combined cube or a complicated maze a part or whole of which can be seen through from the out side is formed so that one may remind of the structure of the maze and pleasantly naturally learn the brain judgement, thinking power and patience.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,036 teaches a visible maze which is made invisible by placing the same inside an opaque combined cube so that the player has to remember the maze pattern in order to successfully guide the ball through it. The game thus requires a good memory to play but does not require strategic or combination skills. Moreover, the smooth pathways will always lead the ball to the end of the vertically aligned pathway and a certain amount of physical skill is required to guide the ball into the desired pathway from an intersection. Ultimately, the movement of the ball will depend on the physical skill of the player. Additionally, the maze pathway is created by a plurality of cubes and these cubes have to be combined in order to define the pathway. Thus, it is also expensive to manufacture.